BALTIMORE – The Coppin State men's basketball team will have its Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference home opener against Hampton Friday night December 5 in the Physical Education Complex.
Since 1995, the Eagles have an 18-17 series lead over the Pirates. Both team have alternated wins over the last five seasons. Hampton won last year's meeting 71-52 in the HU Convocation Center.
A trio of guards set career highs for Coppin State (2-4) in Wednesday night's 77-71 setback to Akron in the James A. Rhodes Arena.
Despite back-to-back losses head coach
Michael Grant has been pleased with his team's intensity and willingness to compete.
"We must continue to play hard every game," said Grant, who is in his second year as head coach. "If we play with high intensity like we did against Towson and Akron, we will put ourselves in a great position to win ball games. But it is very crucial that we get out to a great start in the beginning of games if we want to be successful."
The guard trio of juniors
Keith Shivers,
Trevon Seymore and
James Sylvester has supplied the Eagles instant offense over the past couple games. All three players set career highs in points in Coppin State's last outing against Akron.
Shivers torched the Zips for 17 points and five rebounds on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor. He was also 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. Shivers is averaging 14.6 points in the Eagles last three contests.
Seymore set s career high's in minutes and rebounds as well. Seymore scored 15 points, grabbed seven rebounds and played a game high 37 minutes. He also dished out two assists and has one block.
Sylvester added 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field and six rebounds. He leads the MEAC in 3-point field goal percentage (53.3%). Sylvester is second on the team with eight made 3-pointers.
Coppin State has had a double figure bench player in every game this season
"They are picking their spots and choosing their shots wisely," Grant said. "In our system there are plenty of shots for everyone. The guys are being very unselfish and making the extra pass to the open man."
Not to be overshadowed,
Terry Harris Jr., leads Coppin State in scoring and rebound after the first six games. He is scoring 14.2 points per contest, good for ninth in the MEAC. Harris leads the MEAC with 9.7 rebounds per game.
Meanwhile, Hampton (3-3) is coming off a double overtime road win over Northern Arizona 98-94 Wednesday night.
Quinton Chievous is averaging 15 points and 14 rebounds in three games to lead the Pirates. Reginald Johnson Jr., is adding 18 points and 3.5 assists per game.
Both the Eagles and the Pirates have four players scoring in double figures so far this season.
Coppin State will return to action for it's second and final home conference game for the month when they play host to Norfolk State, Monday December 7. The game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff in PEC Arena. It will be Law Enforcement Night.
